Albany’s
new Riverfront Stage will shake with the gleeful fury of funk
and soul when horn-heavy biggies Tower of Power play the weekly
Alive at Five series tonight (Thursday). Man, these dudes
sure know how to lay down a groove—they’ve even driven Ray
Charles to exclaim, “No band kicks it like Tower of Power.”
Not only have they been around for nearly three decades, the
Tower have backed everyone from Elton John to Santana. Their
new album, Souled Out, finds the band planted firmly
in their soul-funk traditions. One critic’s take on the release:
“The veteran band is serving up as lean and nasty a slap of
contemporary urban soul as it has ever turned out, juiced
up with a spectacular new lead vocalist, some spunky new instrumentalists,
a fresh roster of horn arrangers . . .” When they perform
in our humble hamlet tomorrow (Thursday), local seven-piece
horn-driven blues outfit the Alan Payette Band will open.
(July 24, 5 PM, free, 434-2032)

ARLO
GUTHRIE

Falcon
Ridge Folk FestivalLong
Hill Farm, Hillsdale, Thursday-Sunday

For
15 years, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival has been throwing
a whopping celebration of roots-oriented music and dance,
and this year it’s even whoppinger: four days of live music
(more than 50 acts) provided by big names—Arlo Guthrie, Holly
Near, Richard Thompson, Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky and John
Gorka, just to name a few—and up-and-comers alike. And that’s
not all: Falcon Ridge also boasts music-industry workshops
(from production to publicity, soup to nuts), a dance tent
(where kindly instructors will get both your left feet working
in conjunction), juried craft shows, a guitar raffle, swap
meets, an international food court . . . Sounds exhausting,
but since you can pitch your tent right there on the grounds,
there’s nothing to prevent you from just sleeping wherever
you drop. Of course, single-day passes also are available
for those of you who tremble at things that clog dance in
the night. (July 24-27, $20-$100, 866-325-0366, www.falconridgefolk.com)

This
is a jazz festival for both the connoisseur and the
whole family. The jazz aficionado can enjoy legends like Chico
Hamilton (performing with his latest combo, Euphoria), Lou
Donaldson with Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Heath and Charli Persip.
Plus the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Houston Pearson,
Donald Harrison, Leroy Jones, Roberta Gambarini with the Richie
Hart Trio, Steve Kirby and many more. There will be a main
stage, as well as performances in Ski Butternut’s upper lodge
and clubhouse. There will be jazz workshops, too, on bop singing
and Brazilian jazz, and as a special attraction, Persip will
lead his How Not to Play the Drums seminar. For the kids,
there’s the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (plus
jazz workshops). There will be plenty of food available and
crafts for sale; feel free to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Passes are available for the entire weekend or by the day.
For more details, check out the Web site at www.jazzforumarts.org.
(July 25-27, $60 weekend pass, $20 Fri, $35 per day Sat
and Sun, 914-674-2007)

Francisco
López51
3rd Street, Friday

Whaddya
know? Just last week in our Best Of issue we advised a visit
to the new Troy arts space 51 3rd Street, and out pops an
exceptional night of music at that very place. So sit back
in one of the room’s easy chairs and behold Francisco López,
nmperign, Jason Lescalleet, Brendan Murray and Howard Stelzer,
and Jason Talbot. Headliner Lòpez will attempt to completely
immerse listeners in his electronic soundscapes, going so
far as to pass out blindfolds to further this goal. The artist
has spent the last 20 years processing environmental recordings—traveling
the globe to create his field recordings—in an attempt to
forge as refined and pure a musical essence as possible. With
140 sound works to his credit, he’s probably getting pretty
darn close. The others on the bill have been said to rock
their particular genre, which includes tape-loop manipulation
(Lescalleet), cassette-deck manipulation (Stelzer) and turntable
manipulation (Talbot), computer manipulation (nmperign) and
reverberant-drone manipulation (Brendan Murray). (July
25, 8 PM, $5, 281-3206)

K-RockathonAltamont
Fairground, Saturday

The
brand-new radio station K-Rock (WHTR, 93.7 FM)—will host its
very first concert, the K-Rockathon, at the Altamont Fairgrounds
on Saturday. The all-day K-rock festival will feature the
sort of bands whose sounds will help define the new modern-rock
station. The Saturday concert features headliners moe., a
Buffalo-based jam band who layer a wide variety of instruments
into their sound. The nine-piece John Brown’s Body infuse
their sound with a reggae beat. Hamell on Trial (aka former
Albany resident Ed Hamell wailing on his acoustic guitar)
combines folk story-songs with screaming rants of hardcore
rock. The Figgs, also former local faves, combine a melodic
pop feel with a harder, punkier edge. Peter Prince and the
Trauma Unit round out the afternoon with some R&B. (July
27, 1 PM, gates at noon, $20, 476-1000)

Buckwheat
ZydecoRevolution
Hall, Saturday

Buckwheat
Zydeco, the modern herald of southern Louisiana’s accordion-based
musical genre, is still partying. By consistently blending
traditional Creole style and contemporary flavor for more
than two decades now, this multiple Grammy nominee has become
the ambassador of zydeco to the world of mainstream music.
Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural became the heir to the zydeco legacy
created by Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band
after making the transition from R&B in 1976, and scored
the band’s first Grammy nod with 1984’s Turning Point.
Combining the accordion, bass, and electric guitar components
of traditional zydeco with the modern sounds of synthesizers
and horns, Buckwheat Zydeco has been instrumental in bringing
worldwide acceptance and critical acclaim to the Creole standards.
Years filled with performances alongside a diverse listing
of musical greats, including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton,
and Neil Young, have solidified Buckwheat Zydeco’s status
as the chief representative of the genre. The doors open at
8 PM for this 21-and-over show. (July 26, 9 PM, $22, $20
advance, 273-2337)

also
noted

Tomorrow
(Friday), Valentine’s welcomes the moodily melodic
Connie Acher and the head-crushingly riff-rocking
Small Axe; sandwiched in between those sonic
extremes will be new local supergroup Total Chaos
Unit, featuring Brent Gorton (Stars of Rock),
Jonathan Pellerin (Complicated Shirt), Gaven Richard
(the Kamikaze Hearts) and Greg Adams (the Users).
We’re guessing they will be moodily head-crushing,
rather than riff-rockingly melodic. But, what with
the total chaos, who knows? (9 PM, $5, 432-6572).
. . .Upstairs at Valentine’s on Friday,
the Highsocks will celebrate the release
of their CD, offering a free copy to the first 21
people through the door. The Flying Bobbz also
are on the bill, and Nogoodnix will perform
their “see ya” set, reportedly the band’s last ever.
. . . Also Friday, pop-folk-country crossover fave
Mary Chapin Carpenter hits the Calvin Theatre
in Northampton,Mass. (8 PM, $27.50-$45) . . . .
Skank, mosh, go mad with Reel Big Fish, Zebrahead,
Gob and the Matches at Saratoga Winners
on Friday (8 PM, $16, 783-1010). . . . Legendary
jazz pianist Hal Galper—he’s played with
everyone from Cannonball Adderly to John Scofield—will
sit in with Joe Barna and Jazz Explosion at
the Van Dyck on Friday (7 and 9 PM, $12, 381-1111).
. . . Beginning Friday and running through Sunday,
Max Creek celebrate their 32nd anniversary
with a blowout at the Indian Lookout Country Club
in Mariaville. Lending a hand will be Tom Tom
Club, Jen Durkin & the Bombsquad,
Strangefolk, Railroad Earth and a
slew of others, including the cleverly named Fuzz
& the Gratuitous Sextet ($75 includes camping,
www.campcreek2003.com). . . . precocious jazz vocalist
Sonya Kitchell will make you feel bad about
your own life’s accomplishments on Saturday at the
Iron Horse Music Hall (7 PM. $10, 413-586-8686).
. . . Sunday at the Iron Horse, indie-pop charmers
the Ladybug Transistor will play, along with
King Radio and Claudia Malibu (7 PM,
$8, 413-586-8686). . . .and African instrumentalist
Diblo Dibala and his eight-piece band will
perform at Albany’s Washington Park on Monday (7:30
PM, free).